Dim Sum Sunday/Throwdown Challenge - Beets and Pumpkin

What you say? Two challenges for the price of one? You know me, if I can cut a corner I'm all over it. So this week Big Shamu over at the Karmic Kitchen has her Dim Sum Sunday Challenge with the theme this week being pumpkin/squash. Moi at Bite the Apple is having a Culinary Throwdown with a theme of beets. This throwdown was formerly hosted by Chef Troll. So old Buzzy decided to combine the two challenges with Beet Soup in Roasted Acorn Squash.

Now I don't normally (ever) cook with beets. My mom use to make them when I was a kid as a side, Sometimes pickled but mostly canned. The first obstacle I ran into was the beet soup. When I told the family, well, let's just say it wasn't well received. The 2nd obstacle was finding the acorn squash. I went to my local produce junction and they had everything except the squash. I ended up getting them at the local ShopRite and pickings were slim.


I took these pictures outside with all the leaves from last night's torrential downpour.

The recipe calls for small squash that you take the top off of. I decided to go with a couple of bigger ones and cut them lengthwise. That worked pretty good.



Cutting up the beets was a red mess. My hands still have a red tint to them. Overall the prep and cooking wasn't that bad.



The final result was a very earthy but slightly bland, beet tasting soup. I'm not sure what I expected but it needed something. It was better when you scooped some of the squash with soup. I added some salt and pepper and that helped. Interesting dish but I don't think I'll make it again.

MUTE MONDAY - (Bud Light) ADVERTISIING

Buzz Kill's Disclaimer: Buzz Kill and it's subsidiaries do not like nor do they endorse Budweiser or Bud Light. We drink it only when there is absolutely nothing else (like at ball games or while Trick-or-Treating with the kids). That said, Bud Light (and technically Budweiser for the 1st one) has the funniest commercials EVER MADE (if you're a guy) and are what all TV advertising should look like. These are the best of the best - so enjoy.

MUTE MONDAY - ARTHUR/ARTHURS

Viewer Note: Picture identities are in the file names. Put your cursor over the picture and read the file name at the bottom.












You knew this was coming...
Susan: A real woman could stop you from drinking.
Arthur: It'd have to be a real BIG woman.

Troll's October Culinary Throwdown

After much badgering from Troll for his "Steak and Potatoes October Throwdown", I decided (at the very last minute) to make a very lame, first-time entry. So here is a typical Thursday night dinner, prepared in about 25 minutes because that's generally all the time I have to get dinner on the table at 6:00PM (as ordered by the Mrs - and I follow orders or people die). Turns out the Mrs was late anyway - again.

Anyway, this is a pan-fried ham steak, steamed potatoes with fresh rosemary and canned green beans (yes, I said canned).




So there you have it, food on a shoestring that has nothing to do with October, every night and on time. Meat and potatoes - it's what's for dinner bitches (that's what I call the monsters when they whine about what's for dinner).

Dim Sum Sunday - π

This weeks Dim Sum Sunday challenge is pie, one of my favorite food groups. I don't think there's a pie out there that I don't like. One of my all-time favorites is Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie. Many years ago I had an uncle (well, a neighbor my family adopted as uncle) who was quite an avid gardener. He had one of the largest properties in town and he use to farm about an acre. He turned it every year, by hand, until he was well into his 80s. Anyway, one of the things he grew was rhubarb. He would always bring a bunch over and my mom would make about a dozen strawberry-rhubarb pie fillings and freeze them for the winter.

I don't have my mom's recipe handy, so I searched epicurious.com and found Deep-Dish Rhubarb Pie with Crumb Topping from Bon Appetit, 1989. This is a different type of strawberry-rhubarb then my mom made. She made her own crust and made it as a 2-crust pie. I suck at making crust, so I went with a pre-made crust and this recipe was relatively simple. I was able to get all of the other ingredients.

The only other problem I had was finding fresh rhubarb. Two stores and none to be had, so I went with frozen. At the Shop-Rite, I must have asked five people before I found it - right next to the frozen pie crust.

Here are some of the in-process pictures:

The filling simmering on the stove.

The crumb topping.

Everything ready to go.

Completed pie pre-oven.


The kitchen smelled awesome and I had a little filling left over for the Pudge and I to taste and it was really good - sweet, but good.



After Action Report.

Well, we tried the pie and it was pretty good but very sweet - and a little runny but that's how my mom's always came out. If I make it again (and I probably will) I will cut the sugar in half. The rhubarb is suppose to have a slightly tart sour taste to contrast the sweet strawberries. This is missing that tart. I think because of the sugar and probably because the rhubarb is frozen. But as far as I'm concerned there's no such thing as bad pie.

MUTE MONDAY - (Mad) SCIENCE

Perfect Tommy: Emilio Lizardo. Wasn't he on TV once?

Buckaroo Banzai: You're thinking of Mr. Wizard.

Reno: Emilio Lizardo is a top scientist, dummkopf.

Perfect Tommy: So was Mr. Wizard.

Classic Movie Parodies

Fellow twisted blogger K9 posted a hysterical Sound of Music parody over at SparringK9. I really enjoyed it and got to thinking about a couple of other classics that MadTV made many years ago that cause me to laugh so hard I cry every time I watch them. There's nothing funnier then perverting a children's Christmas classic. Enjoy.

MUTE MONDAY - THE (Prat)FALL